The Self-Running Agency Concept

As a fellow agency coach and former agency owner, Rob Da Costa understands the pain of starting your agency with the dream of doing something you love and achieving vocational and financial freedom and flexibility, only to find yourself two years later, still intrinsically involved in the day-to-day operations, unable to grow your business and realise your dreams.

In this week’s episode of Agency Conversation, DAC founder, Janusz Stabik and Rob Da Costa of Da Costa Coaching spend a little over half an hour unpacking the secrets of Self-Running Agencies and how adopting Rob’s agency concept will give you the time, freedom and ability to work on your agency, rather than in it. 

If you’re serious about scaling your agency and want to sustain your hard-earned success without falling out of love with your passion and your agency dream, the Self Running Agency concept could be just what you need.

What Is The Self-Running Agency Concept?

A Self-Running Agency is a concept or an aspiration where an agency is less dependent on its owner and instead utilises systems and people effectively to grant the owner flexibility and freedom without losing control or diluting the quality and quantity of the output. 

There are three components where this concept is applied within an agency, and the first is across Planning - defining both long and short term goals and visions for your agency. The second is all about Business - this is big picture thinking, networking and developing business to secure your agency’s future. Finally, the third area is Team - building a team of trusted and skilled people to support your vision. 

This concept is a solution to a shared pain point raised by many agency owners who have trouble scaling and growing their businesses. Those same energetic and inspired entrepreneurs who were brave enough to start their own agency often end up exhibiting textbook controlling tendencies and are unable to delegate necessary tasks to allow their business to grows. 

How Does A Self-Running Agency Differ From Any Other Agency?

Firstly, self-managed agency owners typically have a very clear vision and long term plan which they communicate to the agency at every level. This ensures their stakeholders are invested in the purpose and the direction of the agency. Without a clear, well-articulated vision, it’s hard to build a strategy and a plan to reach that goal, and it’s even harder to keep your agency and its people on track. 

Secondly, self-managed agency owners will have a management or leadership team who they can delegate the delivery of a lot of aspects of that vision too. These tasks might be bookkeeping, client work, account management or administrative tasks, which allows the owner to focus their time on adding value to the business where it counts, with planning and business development.

Finally, these agencies will always have robust, repeatable systems in place across the entire organisation. This enables them to deliver consistency across all areas; client experience, output and deliverables, marketing and business development processes as well as internal operations. 

Creating A Scalable Self-Running Agency With Systems

It’s important to note that systems are not software programs or digital tools. Systems are standard operating procedures that capture the manner in which your agency carries out tasks. 

Implementing robust systems and procedures will have positive external and internal benefits to your agency. A structured and well-documented client onboarding process will guarantee a consistent client experience regardless of who is working on the account. While implementing strong systems for account management and inter-studio communication will create a productive work environment for your team. 

Think about the regular processes your agency performs, whether it be proposals, onboarding, or reporting and imagine how scaling and training new team members becomes infinitely easier if these processes are well documented and easily shareable.

In this week’s episode, Rob and Janusz share a great metaphor when they speak about standardised recipes and methods within restaurants. Restaurants of all shapes and sizes, from fine dining to fast food, detail just enough information within their processes to ensure consistency for every customer, every time - no matter who’s in the kitchen. 

The metaphor is extended when Jansuz likens many agencies to a typical Grecian taverna, where the owner is also the chef, the Maître d, the barman and the waiter and manages to get through each evening to deliver just the right amount of quality for that audience. 

As an agency, if you want to continue to be the taverna owner, you're not going to be able to grow without creating a plan, building a team and designing operational systems.

Rob’s Top Tips For Starting Your Self-Running Agency Journey

1 - Define Your Goals

This can be as simple and unrefined as notes on a piece of paper. Ask yourself ‘Where would I like to be in 12 month’s time?’ and jot down your answers. Define what success would look like to you, make sure it’s challenging, but still realistic and most importantly - make sure you really want it.

2 - Create A Roadmap

On the same piece of paper, break your goals into quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily tasks that will keep you accountable. Part of this roadmap might include financial milestones which will enable you to hire a new team member.

3 - Formulate Your Systems

The key to operating a successful Self-Running Agency is having robust, well-documented systems in place before you begin to expand your team and scale your agency. Think about the daily tasks and operations your agency undertakes, particularly those you’re likely to delegate to someone else and make sure there’s a documented recipe for them to follow.

4 - Seek External Advice

Finally, and most importantly Rob emphasises the value of seeking external advice and support when restructuring your agency and changing the direction of your business. This advice might come from a trusted contact from your professional network or in the format of professional consultancy.

If you’re serious about scaling and are tired of working in your agency, rather than on it, make sure you catch this week’s episode of Agency Conversation, with Janusz Stabik and Rob Da Costa where you’ll understand the secrets of Self-Running Agencies and how to implement the concept within your digital marketing agency.